Love Letter Straight to Your Heart
by maeyan
Summary: AAMRN. Ash writes a letter to Misty about his life and his feelings. Future... Waaaay in the future. I may write more.
1. Default Chapter

Pokémon: Love Letter Straight From Your Heart A fanfiction by Maeyan (maeyan@mailcity.com)  
  
DISCLAIMER: While I have traded many pieces of paper for their goods, I have no ownership or rights to the characters, etc. of Pokémon. May blessings shower upon those that do, for having introduced me to Jigglypuff, Dratini, Blastoise, and Gary Oak. ***************************************************************  
  
  
  
Dear Misty,  
  
I can't believe it, but it's been twenty years since you left me. Tomorrow at 4:43pm. Twenty years.  
  
That's a long time to be without someone you love as much as I love you.  
  
And yes. I still love you. How can I not? I often wonder if I ever told you how much I feel for you. Did I? How can it truly be put into words...  
  
I pulled my old trunk from the attic today. It's full of memories from years long gone... My old Pokémon league hat... Dexter... various league badges... Photographs... some of Tracey's sketches... the invitation to Brock's wedding... various birth announcements and obituaries... my Gym- leader certificate... the letter from Gary's wife, about the accident... old empty Pokéballs...  
  
Did I ever tell you how glad I was that you were still here when Pikachu died? I don't think I could have made it without you. You always were my rock, Mist, my reason to go on.  
  
I found the letters and photographs from the 'Wars, too. I put the group photo on the mantel - the one Toya took? I'll admit it, Misty: I cried. We were so young in that picture. You, me, Gary, Brock, Richie, Surge, Mich, Joy, Alfie, Tam, Sara... all of us. We were barely adults, full of hope and conviction. Why did we volunteer, Mist? Yeah, Surge was always willing to fight... but us? Fighting a war our ancestors had started? I've forgotten the rest of the words, but one line from that old folk ballad - the one Brock sang after our first battle - has always haunted me...  
  
"We didn't start the fire. No we didn't light it, but we're trying to fight it"  
  
But we all came back, Mist. I'll never forget that. The 465th was the only unit to have a 100% return of both Pokémon and Human. Remember? All of us made it back home.  
  
Home. I'm still in Pallet. Well, it's called Palletia City, now. But it's still Pallet. The people here still remember you. They talk about you sometimes, and I just smile. I guess that's why I never moved away. If I can't be with you, I can at least be with other people who love you.  
  
And videos. Did I mention there were old videos in the trunk? I'm watching one now. You're playing in the leaves. It's fall, and your smile is blinding me. You have a leaf stuck in your hair, and I see my hand reaching from behind the video camera. Of course, that was when you pulled me into the leaf pile - remember? And the camera went dead. I can still feel the kiss...  
  
I've got to stop now. It's getting late and it's not just my heart that aches at night anymore.  
  
I miss you. Twenty years. I know you didn't leave on purpose - that we all have to go sometime. But that doesn't make it any easier, love. It almost makes it harder, actually - waiting for so long, wondering when I will be allowed to follow *you* on the next journey. But now... well, I have a feeling, Mist, that I'll be seeing you soon.  
  
I love you.  
  
-------------------  
  
Ash signed the letter and sighed. He didn't know why he'd written it, but he somehow knew that this was going to be his last year alone. He rose from the desk and walked slowly to the easy chair, his arthritic bones relaxing into the leather. His last year as "crazy old man Ketchum."  
  
"The fool," Misty smiled softly, reading over the letter again. "He should know better than to think I could ever leave him. You'd think he'd remember." She smiled, her wings fluttering in a non-existent breeze. Misty floated over to the easy chair and perched on one of the arms, watching the video with her husband like she had been doing all evening. She was waiting. She too knew that Ash wasn't going to spend another year alone, but she knew more than that.  
  
Her wings fluttered again, and a single feather fell to Ash's lap. He looked down, startled, and Misty smiled sadly. It was time. He looked up and saw her, his eyes lighting up like they hadn't in years. His wrinkled face relaxing in the easy, hopeful smile she'd long ago fallen in love with.  
  
"Mist?" Ash recognized the strangled voice as his own, and was amazed that he could speak at all.  
  
Misty nodded, stepped away from the chair and held out her hand. "I never left, Ash. I was right here all along, loving you just as much as ever. Through fifty years of marriage and twenty years of death. I never left you. I promised you that on our wedding day, and I keep my promises, love."  
  
Ash stood, not noticing the lack of pain as he did so, and took her hand. The scene shifted. They were at a small temple shrine in Cerulean City, their friends and family gathered around them. It was their wedding day. Again. Flower petals and feathers swirled around them and Ash smiled as he looked at Misty, remembering the vows they had made that long ago day:  
  
Together forever. No matter how long. From now until the end of time. No matter where our destiny leads, I'll be there for you.  
  
Ashiterou. 


	2. Jenna's Journey

Pokémon: Old Man Ketchum A fanfiction by Maeyan (maeyan@mailcity.com)  
  
DISCLAIMER: While I have traded many pieces of paper for their goods, I have no ownership or rights to the characters, etc. of Pokémon. May blessings shower upon those that do, for having introduced me to Jigglypuff, Dratini, Blastoise, and Gary Oak. ***************************************************************  
  
"Palletia City Tavern and Country Inn." Jenna read the sign above the tavern with a smile. "I finally made it. It didn't seem that far on the map, but man it's been a hard trip. I don't know how they ever let kids make this trip on their own." Things sure were different back then, she knew. She'd heard about it often enough, and she'd even made it her major in college. "Well, now that I'm here, I guess I'd better start looking for him. That's why I started this crazy quest, after all." She straightened her travel weary shoulders and headed through the tavern door.  
  
Jingle Jingle  
  
"Excuse me." Jenna walked up to the bar and smiled. The innkeeper smiled back and nodded his head.  
  
"Yes, miss? What can I get for you?"  
  
"Actually, I was just looking for some information, thank you. I'm looking for Mr. and Mrs. Ash Ketchum? Can you tell me how to get to their house?"  
  
"T'aint no Missus, Miss," said the man at the far end of the bar. "Jes crazy ol' man Ketchum."  
  
The innkeeper nodded. "Used to be, you know. Passed away about twenty years, now. She was a beautiful lady, was Missus Ketchum. I remember one day. me and the boys was into dares, you see, Miss. Well, they dared me to climb the fence and steal an apple. This was about.. oh... thirty years now, gotta be- we were still Pallet Town, back then. Hmmm. Yes, that's right. I'm not boring you, now, am I?"  
  
The young lady shook her head, reaching into her pack for pen and paper. She wasn't going to discourage him, if he was in the mood to talk. It definitely made her job easier. "No, please, go on."  
  
"Well, There I was, in the middle of his yard when old man Ketchum comes a'stormin out of the house. I thought I was going to get murdered, that's for sure. The other lads had scampered off, like lightening, and I was stuck with the evidence. Well, Missus K came up and just put her hand on the old man's arm. And I tell you, he stopped. Dead in his tracks, he turns to her. 'Sorry Mist' he says. 'I lost my temper again, didn't I?' Like a miracle, it was. She looked me in the eye and I tell you, I thought she was an angel from god. 'If you'd asked, we'd have let you have one' she tells me. Then she walks me out the fence like I'd just come to visit." The innkeeper's eyes misted over. "Yep she was a lady. Can't believe it's been twenty years."  
  
Still writing down the wonderful story, the traveler nodded. "But Mr. Ketchum? He's still around?"  
  
"Yeah. In fact," the innkeeper looked at the clock. "He's probably at the park right now, telling his stories to the kids."  
  
"Lies, Charley." The man at the end of the bar piped up again. "Not stories. Mayor should do something about him. Lock him up or something. He's a public nuisance."  
  
"Mr. Daniels. I've told you before. If you're gonna talk bad about people, you can do it outside. In my place, everyone is a friend. Old Man Ketchum likes to tell stories. Let'um. He's an old man with little left but his memories, warped as they might be."  
  
"Warped is right. The way he tells it, he's a damned war hero. And saving the world with Pokémon gods? Bah!"  
  
The innkeeper glared a moment at the man and then turned back to the young lady in front of him. "Sorry Miss. Old man Ketchum is a somewhat touchy subject around here. What makes you so interested in him, anyway?"  
  
Jenna shrugged and put her notebook away again. "He used to travel with my great-grandfather. How do I find the park?"  
  
A few directions and a friendly goodbye, and Jenna was back on the road. She couldn't wait to meet Mr. Ketchum. She'd heard so much about him from her grandparents, and then finding those wonderful letters in their attic.  
  
Jenna stopped. There was something blocking the road. Well, not something, kids. And they were all running towards her!  
  
"STOP!" She cried, holding up her hands. To her amazement, all of them screeched to a halt and looked up at her expectantly. "Uhm. Where's everyone going?"  
  
The lead boy, barely ten, cocked his head and smirked. "What's it to you?"  
  
Jenna grabbed his ear. A technique passed down in her family, useful with arrogant males. "Well, I am looking for Mr. Ketchum, and I was told that I would find him with a group of kids. That's you."  
  
"Ow owowow. Hey Leggo! Awright!"  
  
Jenna let go and the boy rubbed his ear. "He didn't show up today. We're gonna check the museum to see if he's there. You can come along if you want."  
  
He took off and the other children followed, not waiting for her answer. Jenna followed as best she could, but was completely out of breath by the time she caught up to them at the museum door.  
  
"Hunh hunh hunh" Jenna tried to steady herself against the stairs and a few of the kids looked at her in concern. The boy she'd spoken with earlier was just coming out of the building. "Huhn Is hunh He huhn" She took a deep breath. "Is Mr. Ketchum. here?"  
  
The boy shook his head. "Let's split up. You younger kids go back to the park and wait to see if he shows up. The rest of us will go out to his house to see if he's still there." He looked up at Jenna and frowned. "I'm Jax. You're coming with us, right?" she nodded and he grinned. "Good, cause we're not allowed out of town limits without an adult. Let's go."  
  
*********************  
  
Knock Knock  
  
"Mr. Ketchum? Hello?" Jenna's knock went unanswered and the kids were becoming restless. She tried the door and found to her surprise that it wasn't locked. She turned to Jax with a finger to her lips and he passed the message down the ranks. Silence.  
  
Not knowing what to expect, Jenna crept softly into the house. It was only about 3 in the afternoon, but all of the lights were still on in the front room. It was actually a bit creepy. Once inside, the kids spread swiftly through the rooms. It was Jenna, though, that made the discovery. She couldn't help but cry out, bringing all of the children running.  
  
He was sitting in what was apparently his study. Jenna walked to the front of the chair and knelt in front of him. He's still smiling, she thought. He was clutching an old Pokémon badge in his left hand, and Jenna smiled faintly. There was a faded letter on his lap and she picked it up. "With appreciation for his actions and valor in the Pokémon Wars, Ash Ketchum is hereby awarded the Highest Military Honours of the Indigo League." she sighed and looked around the rest of the room. A large trunk had been pulled up to the easy chair, with papers, videos, and photographs scattered around it. The television was muted, a home-video of a little boy and a young red-headed woman dancing in falling leaves played on the screen.  
  
"At least he died happy." Jenna heard one of the girls whisper, echoing her own thoughts. She turned back to the kids, surprised to see that they were actually more upset at his death than the idea of having found a dead body. "Maybe you kids should go home?"  
  
****************************  
  
Jenna finished her notes and closed her notebook, ready to leave town and go home. She hadn't found Mr. Ketchum in time to speak with him, to talk to him about his life and experiences. But she'd gotten permission to go through his things first. That and the interviews would have to do. She shouldered her bag again and left her hotel room.  
  
The town was going to build a memorial to him. That was something, wasn't it? They'd been surprised to find that all of his "crazy lies" had been true. Ash Ketchum. Highest level Pokémon Master in the Indigo League. Champion of the Orange League. Gym Leader. First Lieutenant of the 465th Brigade. Hero of the Pokémon Wars.  
  
Now it was up to Jenna to tell the rest of the story. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small red object. Flipping it open, she smiled sadly. The confident look of a ten-year old boy, just starting out in life. She closed the Pokédex and put it back in her pocket. It was her job to tell *his* story. Ash Ketchum. Pokémon trainer. Son. Friend. Husband. Father... And it all started in a small town called Pallet. 


End file.
